Jewels
by Ravenmir
Summary: Cath isn't the only SS fangirl in town. Bec Sanders seems like the usual Simon Snow nerd, but online, she's a internet sensation with her Simon Snow fanfiction, and has even more followers than Magicath. But when Bec and her best friend Lilly meet a certain dark-haired, blue eyed boy who just so happens to be the son of Gemma T. Leslie, things start getting crazy. Fangirl Fanfic
1. Chapter 1

"What's your name again, sweetheart?"

The woman behind the marble counter flashed a smile at me, but she was one of those people who smiled with _all their teeth_ with _full passion_, so it looked more like she was baring her teeth.

Then again, what with her leopard print blazer, brown pencil skirt and cat-like way of sitting, it just added to her theme.

"Bec," I replied, my gaze transfixed on her very loud, slightly frightening blazer. "Rebecca, I mean."

The cat lady swept her heavily gelled brown curls out of her face, revealing a thin, angular face with her skin pulled tight across her features. "Well, well, Rebecca, aren't you lucky! I'm sure it's a dream come true to be meeting who must be your _favorite_ author in the world for the very first time!"

I chose not to tell her that I had been to every single meet and greet Gemma T. Leslie had held in Boston, instead accepted the torn ticket stub gratefully before warily walking away.

Glancing up at the huge lobby with its high ceiling, marble floors and huge banners, filled with bustling crowds, I smiled to myself. These were my people.

Everywhere else in the world, I stood out with my messy blonde ponytail, numerous Simon Snow T-shirts and signature bright red Doc Martens amongst all the teeny crop tops and high heels.

Here, at the Simon Snow meet and greet convention, I felt at home. The people here were just like me, shy introverts who wrote numerous fanfiction stories and got five hundred thousand hits on the first day of the post.

Well, maybe that last part was just me.

"Bec!"

I swiveled around to see Lilly, a friend I'd met through numerous phone calls and instant messages involving Simon Snow, barreling towards me. Lilly was my best friend and resident fellow Simon Snow fan. We lived a forty-five minute drive away from the convention center, but Lilly could always convince her dad to drive us there every time. If she was anything, Lilly was persuasive. That's why I love her so much. Lilly's dyed fiery red curls were pulled into a topknot, and her tiny frame was wrapped in a shiny yellow candlelight skater dress that shimmered and rippled as she ran, with the top half of the dress draped in a red shawl, arranged like an Indian sari. Her emerald green eyes are lined with black kohl. Just like all her other daring fashion choices, the arrangement was beautiful.

Lilly may have been just barely five feet, but she sure could get herself noticed.

"Hey!" I caught her as she flung herself towards me in a bear hug, flushing when I noticed the strange looks we got from the people around us.

"May the audience please take your seats in the hall. Gemma T. Leslie will be arriving shortly," a voice boomed over the speaker.

Lilly grabbed my hand. "Come on, come on! I have a feeling this is the day she'll finally do it!"

Laughing, I let her drag me to the doors.

For the past six months, Lilly and I had showed up at every meet and greet we could, listening to all of Gemma's speeches in hope that she would reveal a hint about the eighth and last book in the hugely successful Simon Snow series, that everyone has heard about. Every chance we got, we peppered her with questions, but it was to no avail.

I eagerly followed Lilly into the small but plush auditorium, the brass doors swinging shut behind us.

Just before the doors closed, I glanced back around to see a pair of shining blue eyes staring right back at me.

Before I had a chance to ponder those intriguing, beautiful pair of eyes, Lilly yanked me down in my seat and the hall darkened as the cat lady who was at the counter came clacking up onto the stage in her leopard print high heels.

She flashed one of her signature blinding grins at the audience. Only now did realize the full height of her glossy hair, heavily teased into a curly vintage half-updo with thick bangs hanging to just above her eyes.

"Well, well," She began, "What an absolutely _fantastic _turnout! Before we begin, let me introduce myself, my name is _Felicia Monroe, _and I will be your emcee for this convention! Might I remind you, dears, that no photography or videography is allowed in this hall!" She paused to let that sink in. "And now, the moment you have all been waiting for, the person you came here to meet-" Felicia hesitated before jokingly adding, "and greet, of course – Miss Gemma T. Leslie!" She trilled.

The hall erupted in applause, and Gemma herself stepped out behind the curtains, rather reluctantly allowing Felicia to kiss her cheeks before retreating shyly behind the podium for her speech.

Gemma's mousy brown hair was in loose smooth waves around her shoulders and her eyes were a shining pale, watered down blue. She allowed the audience to settle down before clearing her throat and smiling.

"Thank you, thank you all so much for being here. It means so much to me to have you all here to support Simon, a character I created so long ago that used to be just my little imaginary friend, but now I can share it with all of you and the rest of the fandom!"

Applause and cheers rang out again.

"And now, before I begin, I just want to say that this meet and greet means particularly a lot to me because, for the first time, my own son is here with me today to show my support. Julian is seventeen and my biggest supporter. I couldn't be here today without him. Julian?"

At that, a tall and lean boy with golden brown hair and bright shining blue eyes stepped out on stage.

I knew those eyes.

The all-too-familiar blue eyes met my gray, and they did something few others do.

They stayed there, gaze locked with mine.

Lilly's soft and kind features were twisted into a disappointed frown as we walked slowly out of the hall. It was weird, really, how expressive she was. This morning, since she was so excited, her entire being was glowing with energy, her appearance immaculate, and with a spring in her step.

Now, she hunched as she walked, her hair falling in curly tufts out of her bun, and her half-sari kept twisting awkwardly, trapping her arms to her sides every once in a while.

The stream of people coming out of the hall seemed endless, awed chatter echoing off the walls. A few die-hard fans like us hovered in the lobby while some waited in the carpark, waiting for Gemma T. Leslie to finally come out from backstage so the fans might be able to talk to her personally.

The speech and Q&A session in the hall had gone as expected, mysterious but beautiful Julian having disappeared shortly before Gemma had begun her speech. Lilly and I had got into the routine of not asking her anything about 'Simon Snow and the Eighth Dance' during the speech, but to wait until afterwards when we could get her on her own.

Of course, we didn't want to come across as desperate stalkers, so we had carefully planned to only ask every other time, and as she only came to Boston for two shows every trip, she did not remember us.

We waited for an hour before Gemma finally appeared, and by then there was only a handful of people left.

The second we saw Gemma's trademark canary yellow leather bag, we rushed towards her with everyone else.

But then I saw who lingered at her side.

And I stopped in my tracks.

The boy – Julian – with his beautiful eyes stood there, looking awkward but still with his easy smile from before.

In person, he looked different – not like a celebrity, which was my first thought about him, but more like a regular guy.

A beautiful regular guy, that is.

Standing next to his mother, you could see the similarity between them. But while Gemma's hair was mouse and wavy with the occasional corkscrew curl, his was golden-brown and smooth and silky. Instead of flopping out like most guys' hair, his flopped inwards, creating an adorable tall and messy look, with little pieces dipping into his eyes.

While Gemma's eyes were pale blue-grey, his were glimmering sapphires, such a bright and vivid deep blue they looked like the sky and the ocean had rolled into one. He had Gemma's high and prominent cheekbones and soft yet angular features, but while Gemma was rather short, he was long-limbed and tall.

In other words, he was everything beautiful about Gemma but ten times more vivid.

Lilly turned around from chattering along with the rest of the group with Gemma, just noticing my absence.

"Well? Don't just stand there, Bec, come on!"

Trapped, I warily approached, keeping my head ducked to avoid Julian's sweeping gaze.

I listened to Gemma's conversation, only half paying attention.

Finally, Lilly jostled my arm.

"Ugh," She groaned. "I forgot I promised Mom I would babysit Jamie tonight." Jamie was her six-year-old little brother. "Sorry, Bec, I'd love to stick around but I got to go. Are you coming?"

I checked my watch. My parents didn't expect me home for another hour or two. "Nope, I'll find a ride home. See you later, okay?"

Lilly nodded before giving me a quick hug and rushing away.

I glanced back at Gemma. She was still at the climax of her conversation, and even Julian seemed interested, but there were only three other people left chatting now. I was sure to be noticed.

Instead, I wandered off towards the library of the convention center, which was a little ways off from the lobby. The library was small, certainly, but it had a full bookcase devoted to Simon Snow, so Lilly and I liked to stop by after a show.

I settled down on a soft armchair in the cool library, deciding to reread a chapter or two of 'Simon Snow and the Six White Hares'.

Time passed.

I didn't notice, lost in the world of Simon Snow.

Simon.

Baz.

Lost.

"I didn't expect you to still be here."

I startled up from my book, to see a familiar boy about my age standing in front of me with a charming grin, leaning against a pillar in the library.

I flushed. Julian was here, talking to me. Gemma T. Leslie's very own son.

I opened my mouth to reply but snapped it shut again. For once, I was speechless.

Julian's brow crinkled and he stepped away from the pillar. "Are you okay? You look a little… pale."

His accent was so very English.

I snapped out of my daze and shook my head, blushing again, feeling stupid. "I'm – I'm fine."

I cleared my throat, mustering up my courage. "Julian, right?"

Julian smiled, looking surprised. "Yes," He said. "I didn't expect you to remember."

"You're Gemma T. Leslie's son. I've been stalking her for years. How could I not remember?"

The words were out of my mouth before I can stop them, and I braced myself for the imminent strange look.

But Julian only laughed and shook his head. "Well, I saw you come in here about two hours ago. Mom left already, but I thought I would hang around for a bit. The library's small, but I like it. It's cozy, kind of… reassuring."

I grinned. "That's exactly what I always say about it!"

We grinned stupidly at each other for a moment before I hesitantly asked, "So… You like to read a lot, then, Julian?"

Julian shrugged and slid into the seat across from me. "I've loved to read since I was young. Obviously, you do too, since you've been sitting there reading that Simon Snow book that I'm pretty sure you've read before, seeing how your friend kept telling Mom that you've both read and loved all her books."

I shrugged back at him. "It's kind of my thing. I grew up with Simon as, well, my hero."

"You know, if you'd like, I have an entire box of limited edition Simon Snow posters I never use. It's weird to have posters for my mom's books in my room, but I'd love to give some away," Julian offered.

I nearly jumped out of my seat. "The ones with Penelope and Agatha arm in arm with Baz?"

"No," he replied with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry."

My heart dropped, and I slump back into my seat. "Oh."

Suddenly Julian burst out laughing. "You are so gullible! Yes, yes, it's that one. Do you want it?"

I shrieked (totally inappropriate for a library) and jumped up. "Yes, yes, yes!"

I caught sight of my watch and shrank back down.

Julian looked concerned. "Something wrong?"

"No, I just have to go. I'm late."

I grabbed my bag and hurry to my feet. To my surprise, Julian did the same, smiling at me.

"Okay, but can we meet again? I still want to give you those posters," Julian teased me.

I hid my smile. "Sure, Julian. I'd like that."

As I walked away, Julian suddenly grabbed my arm. "Wait, Bec."

I swiveled around, eyebrows raised.

"Call me Jules."


	2. Chapter 2

Julian Alexander Leslie called me at 2.47pm in the middle of a Literature class.

I had to step out of class, given the glares and hushes I received from both my classmates and Professor McKenzie, who is barely twenty five and usually very cool about cell phones in class. It didn't help that my ringtone was "WHO LET THE DOGS OUT?"

Swearing, I scrabbled frantically in my vintage tote bag (1860's Nancy Husher model – so cute) before pulling out my phone, which did not help, just making the chorus of "WHO? WHO? WHO? WHO?" louder than usual. I had to shut it off before it started playing my second ringtone of a Simon Snow movie score.

"Miss Sanders," Prof McKenzie drawled, casually playing with a pen while perched on her desk, dark hair swaying in the wind. "Please step outside and answer it before your classmates spontaneously combust it with their glares."

I mumbled a quick, "Sorry, sorry, I'll make this fast," before rushing out of the classroom into the open hallway.

The number was unfamiliar, but I pressed 'answer' anyways before pressing it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hi, um, is there a Bec there? Rebecca?" The voice was familiarly English, sweet like honey with a rough edge.

"Yes, that's me," I breathed, knowing exactly who it was but not believing it.

"Oh, hi!" Julian said, sounding delighted. "It's Jules. Julian? We met at the library?" His voice turned sheepish. "You might not remember me."

Color flooded into my cheeks and I grinned. "No, I remember you. The one who never kept his promise to give me his posters, yeah?"

Jules laughed, an adorably rough sound. "Yep, that's the one," he replied. "Although I do intend to keep that promise."

A distinctly Lilly-sounding shout rang from the classroom. "Hurry _up_!" It was shortly followed by a sharp, "Don't shout."

Julian coughed, sounding uncertain. "Is… Is this a good time?"

I shrugged, although I knew he couldn't see me. "Well, I'm kind of in the middle of class."

"Oh god, I'm so sorry," Julian sounded appalled. "I'm homeschooled. I tend to forget the usual schedules." He drew in a breath and suddenly blurted, "_IjustwantedtoknowifyouwanttomeetuponFridaytohangoutandcollecttheposters._"

I froze. "What?" I immediately mentally slapped myself for being rude, but Jules didn't miss a beat.

"I-I just wanted to know if you want to meet up on Friday – maybe at 12? – to you know, hang out. You can collect your posters."

God, I could just imagine him winking as he said that.

Another, "What the hell is she doing?" echoed from the classroom.

I wanted to slap all my impatient classmates. Jules actually still wanted to hang out with me! I wasn't there anymore, I was floating of happiness, and my classmates were like intruding birds on my flight in the clouds.

"Um, hello?"

Quickly, I mumbled a "Sure, that's sounds great. I've really got to go now."

Just as rushed, Jules answered, "Okay! I'll, uh, text you."

Awkwardly, I ended the conversation with an "Okay, uh, bye then," hanging up before he could reply.

Before I ran back into the classroom, I allowed myself one last smile.

Oliver was sure Jules was a serial killer.

We lay comfortably across my red chaise lounge I had picked up from the flea market in my room, staring at the pile of clothes my closet had thrown up that was hanging out on the floor. (I had it thoroughly – _thoroughly _– checked for fleas before adding it to my room.)

Oliver was my best guy friend, and was also very gay. We'd grown up together since our parents were best friends, and were just as close now in high school.

He was looking fabulous, as usual, with his bronze hair artfully messy and black nerd glasses perched on his nose. (The glasses were prescription-free, but were apparently a trendy accessory.) He was wearing bright cherry long sleeved sweater, skinny jeans and a black scarf that was carefully arranged around his neck.

It was an hour before I was supposed to meet Lilly and Jules in Copley Square, and twenty minutes earlier I had recruited Oliver to help me find something to wear. When he'd arrived, I was fresh out of the shower, my hair blow-dried and skin glowing. Now, I looked like I had been through hell and back, and then more.

"You can't meet a guy once, then agree to meet him and allow him to _give you something_, Bec. I am nearly positive he is about to hand you a bomb on a silver platter."

I sighed, fingering a cute scarf I had bought a year before. "(a), he's not a demented madman. (b), he's handing me a poster, Oliver. Even you couldn't hide a bulky bomb in a poster. And (c), I won't be alone, anyway, I'm bringing Lilly along – I won't be alone." I paused and held up the maroon scarf. "No?"

Oliver snatched the scarf and threw it in a corner. "_No. _That scarf should have been discarded in the 80's. Also, scarves read 'trying too hard'. You're just friends, so I vote…" Oliver stood up and rummaged through the pile, pulling out a pale coral chunky knit sweater and a pair of clean jeans. "Wear this."

I considered before grabbing a black Simon Snow beanie to the pile. "With that. Perfect."

Oliver moaned. "I just spent half an hour trying to convince you to wear anything but Simon Snow merchandise, but you have, like, five other pieces of clothing, so just wear the beanie and nothing else." He made a big show of checking his watch. "I gotta go, _chica._ Later," he threw over his shoulder while waving and stalking out.

"You're not Spanish!" I throw back, before smiling and putting on the outfit and checking my own watch. I had a half hour before I was meeting Lilly on the sidewalk. I settled down with my laptop and opened my only Top Site.

.

Lilly was not a very patient person, so when I showed up ten minutes late, she walked in sullen silence for a full five minutes. Copley Square was a ten minute walk away.

"I put up a new fanfic," I tried as way of conversation. "Simon was killed by Agatha in the story."

At that, Lilly jerked her head up, eyes wide. "Wait, what?"

I laughed and jabbed her side. "I knew that would get your attention, grumpy!" It was flattering how much Lilly, my best friend, clung on to every word in my fanfiction.

Lilly's eyes were serious. "You didn't kill Simon," she deadpanned.

I giggled and yanked playfully at a strand of her red curls, now loose around her shoulders, surrounding her face like a fiery halo. "No!"

Lilly sighed, but she was smiling. She nudged me. "So… you and Julian, huh?"

I had already given her all the details of our conversation, but Lilly was sure that we were flirting.

I imagined being with Jules – this beautiful, charming stranger, and had a weird feeling my chest. I'd crushed on boys before, but this feeling… It was definitely different.

Now, I poked her back. "N-o, we're just friends. I barely know him."

We rounded the corner into Copley Square, and immediately caught sight of our meeting place with Jules, where the familiar shape of him stood.

Lilly and I both fell silent.

His eyes were bluer than ever, such a deep blue that it seemed endless. His hair was messy, chocolate brown and too long, falling into his eyes. His smile was the signature Jules 100 watt grin.

He was beautiful, but you could see he didn't know it.

I waited for something to overcome my chest – a sense of longing, perhaps, or desire.

There was nothing.

Then his electric gaze turned to me, and a dangerous spark sparked up in my chest.


	3. Chapter 3

"Wait, so you've literally never had a hot dog?" Lilly demanded.

Jules, hand still clutching his original dog with extra sauerkraut, shook his head and laughed. "They have it in England, but I'm homeschooled. Homeschooled kids don't really get the chance to go out and have a hot dog or even McDonalds."

Before Lilly and I got simultaneously scream vulgarities at the cruelty these poor children face, Jules held up his hands. "Don't worry, yes, I've had a cheeseburger before."

I know, homeschooled British kid tries American food for the first time cliché. But really, that cliché is totally true.

We were having a little picnic at a quiet corner of Copley Park, under the shade of some thick foliage and resting on a comfy picnic mat, enjoying some very healthy, delicious snacks.

It was totally a scene from a movie.

Okay, so, by quiet I mean there wasn't anyone trampling on us, despite being pretty crowded. And, you, know, by thick foliage I mean a single pretty tiny (Lilly had deemed it 'cute') tree. And by comfy picnic mat I mean a scratchy brown cloth some other family had left behind. And by healthy, delicious snacks, I guess you could say I mean hot dogs bought from hot dog stand a few yards away.

Fine, it wasn't like a movie.

Still, the day was going surprisingly well. Jules was most certainly not a serial killer, as Oliver had speculated, and he and Lilly got along well. And he looked fantastic in those perfectly fitting jeans and purple top. I happened to keep looking up to notice him staring at me with this small smile, and he would hurriedly turn back to Lilly, who was forever chattering on, but the smile would stay. And he looked great in that outfit. And Lilly kept sneakily giving me the 'he is so cute' thumbs up. And did I mention he looked adorable in those jeans?

"Bec?"

My gaze shot up to see both Jules and Lilly staring at me expectantly. Seeing my blank expression, they both laughed.

I flushed, turning away. "Sorry, sorry," I mumbled, grinning. "I blanked out. What did you say?"

Jules grinned. "I asked you what university you were planning on applying to," he repeated, blowing a tiny lock of hair out of his eyes.

I froze. "Oh," I blurted. "I haven't really decided yet. Maybe Boston Uni, but I really want to get into University of Bristol, or Imperial College in the UK. You know, escape for a few years. We start next year."

Before Jules could reply, Lilly interjected, "Oh yeah, are you in university, Jules?"

Jules grinned from ear to ear. "Actually, I'll be starting in September. I was accepted into Bristol."

Lilly and I froze, and a slow flush crept its way across my cheeks. Lilly glanced at me, eyes wide and mouth open, and I got the message – _OMG, you two are totally on the same page! It's a sign that you should be together!_

I replied with a quick look that read – _Shut up, we're just friends! – _before calmly smiling at Jules, although my heart was about to hammer its way out of my chest.

Jules eyes were bright and his lip curled. "Maybe I'll see you there?"

I stuck my tongue out playfully at him. "Or maybe not!" I teased. "Now that I know you'll be going too…" I said in singsong.

My phone suddenly buzzed in my pocket, and I glanced at it to see a new message pop up from Lilly, of all people.

_You two are totally flirting_, it read.

I glared at Lilly, who was stifling laughter as she discreetly slid her own phone into her bag.

I cleared my throat and took a quick look at my watch before sighing. "Oh god, it's almost five. Oliver and I have our science project to work on, and Mom wants me to babysit Baz tonight while she goes out with Aunt Glenda." Regretfully, I ended, "We'd better go."

Jules's eyes twinkled. "Baz?"

Lilly grinned mischievously. "Bec's so Simon crazy she nicknamed her baby cousin Baz. His actual name is Sebastian."

"My Aunt Glenda and her baby are visiting, and obviously, since my siblings are conveniently otherwise engaged, I'm stuck babysitting," I explained, beginning to gather my things.

"You have a lot of siblings?" Jules asked, playing with a piece of frayed purple thread he'd ripped from his shirt.

I shrugged. "Only two others – Angie and Josh."

Lilly giggled. "Angie's short for _Evangeline._"

I laughed. "My mom tried to give us all posh names. Evangeline, Rebecca and Joshua. Quite the trio, eh?"

"Your sister obviously got the worst of the lot."

I shrugged. "Yeah, she pretends she's named Angelina instead and that's why we call her Angie."

Jules smiled again, and his eyes twinkled. "I wish I had a little sibling. Could have saved me tons of embarrassing, exhausting publicity to have the cute younger kid be in the spotlight."

Lilly snorted, and tossed her head despite there being no hair for her to flip. Today, she was protesting mass hunting in Africa, and was wearing a rather loud leopard print dress and had pinned little round red badges to the front of her dress and tied red ribbons around her arms to look like bullet holes. She'd even pulled on an adorable dark brown beanie with cat ears over her bronze-haired pixie cut wig, her usual stark red locks tucked up in the wig.

I have a pretty awesome best friend.

"… and trust me, you will totally regret that," Lilly was saying. "Having kid siblings is horrible."

Jules shrugged, obviously not wavering in his desire to have siblings, before running a hand through his already messy curls from back to front, making it spike.

I sipped at a bottle of water.

"Well, thanks for giving me a little taste of the US, today," Jules said. "Not everyone gets to hang out with two gorgeous girls for a day, eh?"

Lilly snickered and rolled her eyes. "I'm hardly gorgeous," she replied modestly before winking. "You're just blinded by my awesome makeup, hair and fashion sense. That, even I admit, is amaze-tastic."

Jules drawled in response, "Mmm… Maybe I didn't mean you!" He trilled, laughing.

I choked on my drink.

Excuse me.

Stop.

Just stop the hell up.

Did Jules just call me gorgeous?

As I tried to process this information, Lilly and Jules both chortled at my flushed cheeks and red earlobes.

I rolled my eyes and got to my feet, reminding myself that Jules and I were just friends.

Jules and Lilly both scrambled up after me, faces red from giggling.

Jules smacked his forehead. "I forgot to bring those posters!" His voice was apologetic, but his enormous grin totally read _accidentally-on-purpose_. "I guess I'll have to give it you next time, right?"

I grinned back at him. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, Julian Fool-ian." I nodded at him. "Next time."

God, his eyes were so blue.

Jules gave an awkward wave. "Bye, Bec-a-Deck."

Lilly giggled. I rolled my eyes and retorted, "Jules's-a-tool."

"Becca-boogie."

"Jule-mule."

"Rebecca-from-Kentucka."

I burst out laughing. "Do you mean Kentucky? That totally did not work!"

Lilly was watching us with bright eyes. I knew I'd have an earful about it later.

Jules shot back with a grin, "Shame you stopped the game. I had a really good one next."

I snorted. "What, Bec-reads-a-book?"

"Maybe…"

I sighed and waved back at him. Lilly just stuck her tongue out and grinned. "We gotta go. See you later."

Jules nodded, starting the other way. "Later, you two."

As we walked away, Jules threw a shout over his shoulder.

"It was going to be Bec-Tic-Tec, actually!"

I burst out laughing.


End file.
